According to the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas (Mirempet), which presented this Tuesday the data regarding the realization of Angolan exports of crude oil and gas for the second quarter of 2023, the volume of crude oil exported represents an increase of 6.71 percent compared to the previous quarter and a decrease of 9.47 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The director of the Cabinet for Studies, Planning and Statistics (GEPE) of the ministerial body, Alexandre Garreto, indicated that the prices of Angolan branches had a downward trend in the months of April, May and June this year.
The quarterly average for Angolan grades was 76.1 dollars/barrel, while the average for dated Brent was 78 dollars/barrel.
On the international market, the official pointed out the unfavorable macroeconomic sentiment, China's difficulty in recovering from the post-covid situation, the signs of economic slowdown in the United States of America, due to the Central Bank's policies, as factors that contributed to the price decrease.
On the other hand, among the factors that led to a rise in prices are the announcement of production cuts by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), voluntary cuts of 1.6 million barrels/day in April and the increase in demand for fuel.
China was the main destination for Angolan crude oil in the second quarter with a share of 64.25 percent, followed by India (6.20 percent), Brazil (4.25 percent) and Spain with 4.05 percent.
Regarding the volume of LNG (liquefied natural gas), LPG (propane gas) and condensates, 1,124,592 metric tons were exported in this period, valued at 542.3 million dollars.
Compared to the same quarter of 2022, says Mirempet, there was an increase of 18.94 percent in export volume, while in relation to the previous quarter there was a decrease of 2 percent.
The Netherlands (23.30 percent), France (15.48 percent) and Germany (15.38 percent) were the main destinations for LNG exports.
Angolan butane gas, in this period, was only destined for China (100 percent), propane gas for Puerto Rico (13.87 percent) and China (9.62 percent) and the destination of the condensate "is yet to be determined".
